The food stamp of approval

Epicurious.com this is not. But if you want to save a few bucks on food, check the federal government's recipe offerings.

Run by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Recipe Finder site of the Food Stamp Nutrition Connection is intended for food stamp and other nutrition educators. It can be found at recipefinder.nal.usda.gov/.

But you don't need to be on assistance to appreciate these healthful recipes. The site offers hundreds of recipes that can be sorted according to cuisine, equipment, speed and healthy eating themes, such as eating more whole grains or cutting saturated fat.

But perhaps the snazziest feature is the ability to search recipes by cost, either per serving or per recipe. For example, the site offers 116 recipes that cost less than 25 cents per serving, including Italian bean croquettes, melon salsa and a pineapple zucchini cake. Recipes are easy to follow and have nutrition data.

ASSOCIATED PRESS